Which Wicker Outdoor Furniture Should You Pick?
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Wicker outdoor furniture is a great choice if you are looking for patio furniture in a contemporary style or timeless, classic traditional style of garden furniture.
There was a time when outdoor wicker furniture was expensive and tended to have a short lifespan. This was because the furniture was constructed from natural weaves that had problems surviving in damp climates outside of the summer period if left outdoors. The weaves used tended to be natural rattan vine on hardwood frames, banana leaf, sea grass, reed, rush and bamboo cane in construction. If left outdoors in light rain or early morning dew they could suffer from mold and mildew that was difficult to remove over time. Excessive sunlight would cause fading of the natural wicker weave coloring and worse still, result in the drying out of the natural weave leading to brittleness in the fibers and eventual failure of the furniture. Advances have been made in surface protection of natural wicker, so much so that this furniture is still a great choice for indoor use in areas of the home such as bedrooms, sun rooms and conservatories and indeed can still be outdoors if it is brought in overnight or out of the summer season.
Now if you want to enjoy wicker furniture outdoors you need to be looking at synthetic woven outdoor furniture. Affordable in price, robust and available in a far greater variety of styles than natural weave furniture, synthetic wicker garden furniture is essentially furniture constructed from a man made fiber woven in a wicker style and typically mounted on a lightweight, robust, anti rust aluminum frame. The result is a weather proof, environmentally friendly piece of furniture that does not require indoor storage and can be created any where in the world meaning prices are often much more realistic for the average householder. This modern patio furniture comes under a number of names, it is often referred to as synthetic wicker outdoor furniture, all weather, resin, plastic, or poly wicker outdoors furniture. All these terms describe exactly the same thing.
A significant benefit of contemporary all weather woven outdoor furniture is that it is exceptionally easy to maintain. Apart from removing covers all you have to do with this outdoor furniture is hose it down or use a stiff brush on it once in a while to keep it in good condition. No further maintenance is required. Often these pieces are so robust that manufacturers will offer a 5 year warranty or longer on this type of garden furniture.
One of the other major benefits of this style of furniture is the sheer number of styles the furniture is often available in. No longer do craftsmen have to painstakingly hand pick perfect natural materials to create a style, designers can specify length, diameter and texture of the fibers used to weave the wicker loom. The result is a wide variety of contemporary and traditional styles of outdoor wicker furniture to suit every taste. Whereas previously a wicker poolside lounger would have been uncomfortable and impracticable now the weave can be created with a smooth to the touch weave that resists splashes and water. Likewise contemporary and minimalist furniture shapes are difficult to achieve with natural materials but not so tough with modern man made all weather wicker weave.
If you are interested in wicker garden furniture you should consider what type of set or furniture pieces are really required by you and your family. These pieces last so long if chosen well that you want versatile pieces that can offer use throughout their lifetime. Most people opt for an all weather outdoor dining set. Even amongst these, the choices are huge. Most sets vary in size according to seating arrangement. You can opt for four seaters, six seater or eight seater options usually. Dining tables will often be available as square plan for four seater options, rectangular for six seater and eight seater although you can get round wicker garden dining tables to suit all options. Most will be glass topped for improved usability and aluminum framed for structural integrity. Consider if you require a parasol with your patio dining set or even footstools. If you are short on storage space or enjoy minimalist furniture you could opt for cube garden furniture. This is essentially a dining set where the chairs stow under the table when not used to create an easy to store cube shape.
Perhaps you want to be able to lounge about in a more relaxed manner. In this scenario you could consider a wicker outdoor sofa or lounge set made of two sofas, or an all weather wicker armchair and sofa set. Available in all styles and colors from colonial through to modernist in natural colors or black, you can opt for sets with footstools or coffee tables included to transfer your lounge outdoors on days with great weather. Again because of their construction you can leave outdoor wicker chairs out on the deck all year round without any problems, just remember to remove covers and cushions to get the longest life out of them. Most cushions and covers do tend to be washable, removable, splash resistant and shower proof but always check before ordering with these items.
If you don’t want the expense of a full furniture set you can often get high quality, affordable all weather wicker outdoor furniture pieces to suit most scenarios. Have a look around our shopping pages and you will find great quality contemporary resin weave sun loungers, traditional outdoor love seats, rocking chairs, bistro sets, storage boxes as well as the standard outdoor furniture sets you might expect to find.
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